Sheldon Cooper, Crime Stopper
by CrisisKris
Summary: Leonard is viciously assaulted and Penny's reaction makes her question her feelings. Meanwhile, it's up to Sheldon to bring Leonard's attacker to justice.
1. Teaser

Penny rolled her eyes and put down her magazine at the first *knock*knock*knock, "Penny." Glancing at the clock, she took in the time – almost 10pm - sighed and waited.

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

Penny stood and crossed the room, waiting by the door. There was no point in opening it until the third knock.

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

"What's up, Sheldon?" She asked as she swung open the door. Her arms automatically crossed in front of her as she took a slightly aggressive stance, second nature by now, ready to bite back against whatever condescending remark fell out of his annoying mouth.

Only Sheldon didn't look annoying or condescending this time. In fact, he looked a little scared. Penny's arms fell to her side. "What's the matter, honey?" she asked, instinctively reaching out to touch his arm.

"Leonard's in the hospital and I need you to drive me there," he replied.

"Oh my god. Is he hurt?"

"Why else would he be in the hospital?" Sheldon looked at her as though – as usual – he was still trying to determine whether she was a sentient life form. Penny took a deep breath, willing the anxiety that had flared up in her chest to calm down. Sheldon wouldn't be able to cope if she got emotional.

"I mean, do you know what happened?" she asked, reaching for her coat and purse.

"The doctor who called me said he was attacked."

"Attacked? Like by a dog?" She locked her apartment door and they turned together toward the stairs.

"No, by a human," Sheldon replied. "They won't release him unless someone is there to pick him up."

"Who would attack Leonard?"

"I don't know, Penny. We need to go to the hospital." Sheldon gave her that look again and headed down the stairs in front of her.


	2. Ch 1: Bringing Leonard Home

Sheldon mercifully didn't comment on her speed as she raced through the streets, although she did catch him surreptitiously peeking at the speedometer from time to time. He didn't keep up his usual non-stop lecture about everything that caught his eye or triggered a memory, either. Penny was dying to grill him about what was going on, but she knew there was no point. Sheldon wouldn't have thought to ask any questions beyond what was immediately pertinent, which meant that he didn't know anything more than she did at the moment.

It seemed to take forever to get to the hospital, but finally they arrived. Penny started to double park the car. That, Sheldon couldn't let go of. "There's a spot in the lot over there," he pointed out. She sighed.

"What does it matter?" she replied. "Leonard's hurt. We should be with him."

"Leonard is already receiving medical care that is superior to anything that you or I could provide. Assuming that what the doctor told me is true, and that he wishes to come home tonight, we won't be helping him if you double park your car and we get towed."

Penny bit her lip, wrenched on the wheel, and drove into the parking lot. "There, satisfied?" she asked. She could see that Sheldon was considering a retort.

Instead, he asked, "are you upset?"

She resisted the urge to scream at him, knowing that he was genuinely unsure. "Yes, Sheldon, I am upset."

"As am I," he replied, quietly.

"I know, sweetie. Let's go." Penny took his arm and guided him toward the Emergency Room doors.

xxx

The hospital was pandemonium. Of course it was – it was Friday night; drunk teens and drunk adults and drugged out idiots of all shapes and sizes were sitting, lying, and standing around in various states of disarray. Penny looked around, stupidly, as if she could somehow spot Leonard in all the chaos. Sheldon, on the other hand, marched up to the front desk, announced himself and explained that he had been called.

"Hofstadter?" the nurse repeated, tapping on her keyboard. "Looks like he's been admitted. He's upstairs, room 201."

Sheldon turned and walked away, leaving Penny to quickly thank the woman before hurrying to catch up. They found the closest elevator and stepped inside. Penny shivered. "I hate hospitals," she said. "I find them creepy."

Sheldon shrugged. "I spent a lot of time in hospitals as a child," he replied. The elevator doors swept open to the second floor. "I was ill quite often. I enjoyed the experience. I used to sneak into the radiology lab to take X-rays of myself. Here it is." He stopped in front of a partially open door. The room inside was dark.

Sheldon knocked on the door. "Leonard?" he asked.  
*knock*knock*knock. "Leonard?"  
*knock*knock –

"Sheldon, he might be sleeping!" Penny admonished, belatedly.

*knock. "Leonard?" Sheldon whispered.

"Come in, Sheldon," Leonard's tired voice replied. Sheldon gave Penny a smug smile and stepped inside.

There were four beds in the room; three were occupied. Only Leonard's space had the small light turned on, illuminating his pale face. Penny's heart lurched. "Oh, Leonard," she breathed, rushing forward.

"Heh, yeah, it's, uh, it looks pretty bad I guess," Leonard demurred, ducking his head. Penny shook her head, covering her mouth with her hand.

He looked terrible. A large red bruise covered his right eye and cheekbone and his lip was split. The entire side of his face had swollen up, from ear to jaw. Both of his hands were bruised, as were his forearms. He held himself stiffly, belying other injuries that Penny couldn't see underneath the gown and sheet that covered him. Penny felt tears prick the sides of her eyes.

"Oh, hey, Penny, please don't cry," Leonard said anxiously, reaching out to pat her hand awkwardly, which only made her want to cry harder. But she bravely smiled, dashing away the tears, and taking his hand in hers. Their eyes met for a moment, before Leonard looked away, ducking his head again.

"The doctor said you were attacked," Sheldon stated, seeming oblivious to the moment that had just passed between his friends.

"Yeah," Leonard replied quietly. "I was attacked."

"Why?"

"Sheldon! It's not Leonard's fault!" Penny tried to shush him.

"I didn't say it was!" Sheldon protested. "I merely inquired as to whether there was a reason that Leonard was aware of for someone wanting to do violence to his person." Sheldon missed Leonard's wince at those words, but Penny didn't.

"We can talk about it some other time, alright?" she said, in that tone she had that brooked no argument. "Leonard needs to rest. We just wanted to make sure you were alright," she continued, turning to Leonard.

"Well, that's not accurate," Sheldon interjected. "The doctor told me that you wanted to be released, but he refused to release you unless someone came to pick you up."

"Yeah. I want to go home," Leonard replied.

"I don't know, honey," Penny said, looking him over again.

"For once, I agree with Penny," Sheldon added. "I'm sorry, Leonard, but you hardly appear to be in a ready state for being released from medical care. I think this environment would be much better for your physical recovery."

"Thank you for your opinion," Leonard replied. "But I'm really fine. I have a minor concussion and a couple of broken ribs. It's not that big a deal."

"Minor concussion, my ass," a new voice broke in. Sheldon and Penny turned to peer at the newcomer, a middle aged man wearing a white coat and holding on to a clipboard. "You should listen to your friends, young man," he continued, looking pointedly at Leonard. Penny glanced back at her friend. He looked like he didn't have a lot of fight left in him, but he was wearing an expression of grim determination nonetheless.

"Hi, Doctor…?"

"Dr. Billings," the man replied, extending his hand, which Penny took.

"Dr. Billings. I'm Penny, Leonard's neighbour. Is he going to be alright?"

"I'm fine," Leonard reiterated. Penny ignored him.

"He's not fine," Dr. Billings replied. "He's not in any immediate danger, but that 'minor' concussion he was talking about was a little more than minor. He was unconscious when he was admitted. And it's four broken ribs, not a couple, not to mention soft tissue damage and the stab wound in his leg."

"You were *stabbed*?" Penny shrieked, whirling back around to Leonard. She dimly recognized the shrill of hysteria in her voice, but she didn't care – nor did she care about the glare that Leonard shot towards his doctor.

"It's not like I was gutted or anything, Penny, really," Leonard assured her. "One of the guys had a knife and it kind of sliced my calf a little when I was trying to get free. It's hardly a 'stab wound'. It's a cut, I swear."

"*One* of the guys?" Penny responded. "How many guys were there?"

"Penny, please. I don't want to talk about it."

"Leonard - "

"He said he didn't want to talk about it, Penny, and I, for one, think we should respect his wishes in this matter," Sheldon spoke up. "Speaking of which – Dr. Billings, when we spoke on the phone you said that he could be released if I came and got him. While it's clear that none of us agree with that decision, I think we can all agree that it's Leonard's decision to make."

"Thank you, Sheldon," Leonard said.

"You're welcome," Sheldon replied, prompt as ever.

Dr. Billings looked as though he was going to protest, but then he shrugged. "Fine," he replied. "You," he continued, pointing at Sheldon, "need to go to the nurse's station and fill out some paperwork, indicating that you're Dr. Hofstadter's emergency contact and are authorized to receive him into your care. It's a formality," he continued, raising his hand at Sheldon's puzzled look. "And you, Penny, if you wouldn't mind coming with me, there are a few things I'd like to discuss about Dr. Hofstadter's after care."

"Why wouldn't you discuss those with me?" Sheldon started, but Leonard cut him off.

"Just go fill out the paper work, Sheldon," he requested. "And see if you can find me some clothes. They cut mine off in the Emergency Room."

"Alright," said Sheldon, clearly not entirely happy with the arrangement. "But just so you know, I am a perfectly capable caregiver." Nose up, he stalked out of the room.

Penny followed along with the doctor. Once they were outside, Dr. Billings shut Leonard's door and led Penny to a nearby bench.

"I'm going to prescribe a pretty hefty painkiller for Leonard," he told her. "I want you to be in charge of it, to make sure he doesn't accidentally take too many pills."

"Why would he do that?" she asked. "Leonard's not like that, trust me."

"It's not that I think he'd abuse them," Dr. Billings hastened to assure her. "But his head injury is a bit worrisome. I'm concerned he'd forget whether he took them or not."

"Then why are you releasing him?" she asked, the question coming out much more accusatory than she meant. "Sorry," she added. "I'm just upset."

"It's understandable," he replied. "Unfortunately, his injuries aren't severe enough to warrant my forcing him to stay – it's well within the accepted standard of care for persons with his type of head trauma to recover at home, once they're stable, and provided they have support. There's nothing I can do to make him stay here – and as you can see, he's quite adamant about leaving."

"I don't understand that," Penny replied. "He's obviously in a lot of pain."

Dr. Billings' expression softened. "I suspect he'd rather be home, where there are things to comfort and distract him, than here, where he has nothing to do but lie around and think about what happened."

"Dr. Billings, I know you're probably not supposed to tell me this – but what did happen?"

"We don't know for sure," the doctor replied. "As I mentioned, he was unconscious when he was admitted. He didn't become lucid until an hour or so ago, which is why it took us so long to find out who he was and who we should call – his ID is missing. From what I can tell, he was hit in the face by a blunt instrument – something heavy enough to knock him out and fracture his cheekbone. But before that happened, my guess is that multiple assailants restrained him – judging by the bruises on his arms, I'd say someone grabbed him from behind – and either punched or kicked him several times in the torso, breaking four ribs."

"And someone stabbed him in the leg."

"Yes, well, perhaps I did exaggerate – but he does have a laceration that required stitches to repair. I was in the room when he gave his police report and he said that he saw the knife and kicked out at it; he thinks he got cut when he was struggling to get free. He also had defensive wounds on his hands and arms, suggesting that he tried to retaliate, or at the very least protect himself. My personal theory is that he was grabbed, his assailants tried to stab him and when he resisted by kicking the knife away, they retaliated by beating him and then hitting him in the head."

"Oh, poor Leonard!" Penny exclaimed, tears leaking out of her eyes. Dr. Billings calmly handed her a tissue.

"I'm telling you this because when someone experiences that kind of trauma, they usually need support – social support – to recover from it. Leonard's going to need functional help while his body heals, but he might want someone to talk to. You seem like you care."

Penny nodded.

"And you seem responsible enough to manage the medication. In addition to the painkiller, I'm giving Leonard a round of antibiotics just in case." He retrieved two pill bottles that he'd been carrying in his pocket. "Plenty of rest – but he does have a concussion, so make sure you wake him on a regular basis."

"I can do that," Sheldon interrupted. Penny looked up, surprised.

"How long have you been standing there?" she asked.

"In this exact spot, only a moment. Before that, I was walking down the hallway, and before that, I was standing at the nurse's station. I finished all your paperwork," he continued, addressing the doctor, "And as for ensuring that Leonard doesn't slip into a coma, well, I'm much more suited for that, given that I live with him. I'll devise a schedule on the ride home."

"Alright. I'll leave him in your capable hands, then."

"Good. I have to go give Leonard his clothes," Sheldon told Penny, indicating the items in his hand. Penny glanced down and saw that Sheldon had located a pair of scrubs, in addition to Leonard's book bag and his sneakers.

"Okay. Here, I'll hold his bag. He's not going to be able to carry it with broken ribs."

Sheldon passed her the bag and went inside. Penny stood and leaned against the wall, taking deep breath after deep breath. After a few minutes, she felt strong enough to carry on, and slipped inside the room. She stopped just inside the door, trying to be respectful, and listened as Sheldon explained that the scrubs were the best he'd been able to do.

"No, that's great, Sheldon, thanks. Listen, buddy, can you help me?"

"Of course. Help you with what?"

"Help me get dressed." Leonard sounded too tired to be annoyed. Penny checked her impulse to run over and give him a hand.

"Ah, yes, you have broken ribs."

Penny crept closer, unable to help herself. Standing next to the one unoccupied bed in the room, she peeked through the curtains that separated the space from Leonard's bed.

Sheldon had sat down on one side of the bed and wrapped his long arms around Leonard's torso, gently easing him up to sitting. Leonard gasped, paling, and Sheldon's grip tightened as the other man slumped against him for a moment.

"Are you certain you want to leave the hospital?" Sheldon asked, his voice quiet. Penny could tell he was making a concerted effort not to be abrasive.

"Yeah," Leonard breathed, panting against the pain. "I'm just a little dizzy. It's okay."

"Alright." Bracing him with one arm, Sheldon untied the strings of Leonard's hospital gown and slid it, one sleeve at a time, down Leonard's arms. Carefully shifting Leonard's weight, he tugged the gown off. Penny's eyes followed it as it fluttered to the floor. She looked up again in time to see Sheldon slide the scrubs top over the Leonard's head. "Left arm," he instructed. Leonard lifted his left arm as high as he could and Sheldon manipulated the fabric until Leonard's hand poked through the sleeve. "Right arm," he continued, and they repeated the process on the other side.

"Hold on to the side of the bed." Leonard gripped the mattress, and Sheldon carefully let go of him, squatting down beside the injured man. He pulled the pants over first one leg, then the other. Penny caught sight of a patch of white gauze on Leonard's right calf, just below his knee, as Sheldon pulled the pants up to the other man's hips. He tucked the right edge into Leonard's hand and knelt back down, sliding first one, then the other shoe onto Leonard's feet and tying up the laces. "You're going to stand now," he informed Leonard. Stooping down, he once again wrapped his arm around Leonard's waist, mindful of his bandaged ribs. Half-carrying, half-guiding the man, he lowered Leonard to the floor and simultaneously helped him straighten. Leonard stifled a cry by biting at his lip. "Almost done," Sheldon promised. He took Leonard's left hand and placed it on his own waist so that Leonard could steady himself, then pulled the pants from Leonard's grip and slid them over his hips. Penny blushed as the sheet that had been covering him fell away and she realized that Leonard wasn't wearing any underwear. She couldn't help but stare at his crotch as Sheldon tied the drawstring.

"You can come in, now, Penny," Sheldon said, looking directly at the curtain. Leonard looked up, a little stunned.

"Oh," she said, stumbling through the curtain. "I – I'm sorry, I came in and I thought you were ready but you weren't and I… wasn't sure what to do."

"It's okay," Leonard reassured her, trying for a smile. It turned into a wince as he turned his head too fast. "Can we go home now?" he half-begged.

"Yes, of course," Penny replied, pulling herself together. She gathered up her purse from the floor and slung it over her shoulder, along with Leonard's book bag. She waited as Sheldon settled Leonard's arm around his waist – not too high, so as not to hurt him unnecessarily – and adjusted his weight so that he could help the injured man walk over to the wheelchair that Dr. Billings had provided for transporting him. Then she turned, and led the way out.

xxx

Leonard fell asleep in the car. They'd propped him up in the front seat with Penny's coat between his head and the window so he wouldn't be jarred too much. Sheldon had somehow folded his long legs into a pretzel and climbed into the back. For a while they drove in silence. Then Penny glanced into the rear view mirror and happened to find Sheldon looking back at her.

"Dr. Billings said he was restrained and beaten," she said softly, glancing at Leonard to make sure he was sleeping. "Who would do such a thing?"

Sheldon shrugged. "I can think of any number of possibilities," he replied. "Men are much more likely to be the victims of physical assault than women – and men are also more likely to be assaulted by complete strangers. Statistically, it's not that uncommon."

"Sheldon, can't you show a little bit of feeling?" she demanded.

"What purpose would that serve?" he replied, genuinely confused.

She glared at him, tears threatening her eyes again. "None," she finally replied. "It wouldn't serve any *purpose*. It might show that you were a real human being who gave a damn about his friends, though."

"But I am a real human being," Sheldon replied. "And I do care about my friends. Why do you think I asked you for a ride instead of leaving Leonard alone at the hospital? Why do you think I found him clothes? If I didn't care about him, I wouldn't have bothered with any of that."

"You're right," Penny replied. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say you don't care. I'm just upset and I have a hard time understanding why you're not as shocked as I am."

"I suppose it's not as shocking when you've experienced it before," Sheldon mused.

Penny glanced at the mirror sharply, her heart suddenly picking up speed. "What do you mean, you've experienced this before? Has Leonard been assaulted before?"

"Not to this extent, of course. None of us have. But Rajesh once had his nose broken by an angry, intoxicated man because he thought that 'foreigners' were stealing American jobs. Howard's been pummeled more than once by angry husbands and boyfriends – and, well, by angry women, as you might recall. I myself have been the victim of numerous schoolyard bullying sessions, and Leonard has too. We've all been intimidated by other males as adults."

"I think this is a little different," Penny replied.

"Only in magnitude," Sheldon pointed out. "Violence is violence." Penny took this in, looking over at Leonard's bruised face. She decided right then and there that she'd call Howard first thing in the morning and apologize for punching him in the nose.

xxx

"Leonard, we're home," Penny said gently after she'd parked the car. Sheldon had already clambered out of the back seat and was waiting by the passenger side door.

"Mmmm," Leonard replied, slowly sitting up. Penny's jacket slid down to the door handle. Sheldon opened the door and retrieved the jacket, handing it across Leonard to Penny before stooping down and easing Leonard out of the car.

"It's going to be difficult to get up the stairs," he observed as Leonard found his balance.

"I know. I'm sorry. I probably should have stayed at the hospital," Leonard apologized, leaning heavily against his friend.

"Yes, you should have," Sheldon agreed, and they set off. Penny retrieved her purse and Leonard's bag, locked the car, and hurried over to them so that she could open the door. They made their way very slowly up the stairs, Sheldon on one side and Penny on the other, trying to be as gentle as possibly. Nevertheless, Leonard was sweaty and white by the time they reached the fourth floor.

"It's okay, we're here," she shushed him comfortingly, taking Sheldon's keys and opening the men's apartment.

They stepped inside. "Bed," groaned Leonard.

"Not quite," Sheldon admonished. "Penny – painkiller."

"Right." Penny fumbled for the bottle of pills and then grabbed a glass from the kitchen, filling it with water before presenting it to Leonard. He took the pill and tried for the glass, but his hand was shaking and the water sloshed. "I've got it, here," she said, holding the glass up for him. He managed a couple of sips, enough to swallow the pill.

"Thanks," he croaked. "Really, Penny, thank you for coming."

"Okay, now bed," Sheldon interrupted. "Penny, lock the door on your way out." With that dismissal, Sheldon headed down the hallway with his precious cargo in tow. Penny turned toward the door, but hesitated. She didn't want to be alone yet. Instead she sat down on the couch in the dark, her mind swimming, to take a moment and gather her thoughts before slipping out.

From the bedroom, she heard Leonard moan as Sheldon helped him lie down. And then a moment later, she heard something that made her smile, despite herself. It was Sheldon.

"Soft kitty, warm kitty, little ball of fur…"


	3. Ch 2: Tell the Truth

*Knock*knock*knock, "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock, "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock, "Penny."

Penny threw open the door and squinted up at Sheldon, who jumped back and covered his throat. "I know that it's earlier than 11am but these are extenuating circumstances, ones in which I assumed you might make an exception to your no-knocking-before-11-am rule…" he started.

Penny cut him off with a gesture. "I'm not going to punch you," she replied. "What is it?"

"It's 7:30am. I have to go to work."

"Okay."

"Somebody needs to watch Leonard. Standard protocol for treating a concussion is to regulate sleep and wakefulness for 24 to 48 hours. It's only been nine." Sheldon looked the same as usual, but there was a hint of anxiety in his voice.

"It's okay, Sheldon. I'll watch him. Just let me get dressed."

"Well, go. Koothrappali is expected to arrive in less than seven minutes to pick me up." He shooed her back into her apartment.

Penny stumbled around for a minute, trying to get her bearings. She'd snuck out of the men's apartment in the middle of the second verse of Soft Kitty, not wanting to upset Sheldon by outstaying her welcome. She'd felt exhausted, but had lain in bed, wide awake, for what seemed like hours after that, unable to get the image of Leonard's broken face out of her mind, although – if she were completely honest – the image of his body as Sheldon helped him dress had played out in her imagination too. Sighing, she grabbed a pair of jeans and a t-shirt and threw them on. Hopefully Sheldon had thought to make coffee.

Leonard was up and sitting in his chair when she walked in. Sheldon was on his cell phone and when he saw her, he said, "Never mind, she's here," and hung up.

"Good morning," Leonard said. He tried to smile, but ended up grimacing. Penny took a step toward him, but Sheldon intervened.

"I need to talk to you in private," he ordered, and effectively pushed her back into the hall.

"Sheldon, what's going on? Raj is waiting for you."

"I need you to know the ground rules," Sheldon answered.

Penny checked a sigh. "Fine. Okay, Sheldon. Tell me the ground rules."

"Pain medication every 3-4 hours, one pill only. Antibiotics three times a day with food. Soft food only – he has a fractured cheekbone."

"I know, Sheldon. I was the one the doctor told that to."

"Don't interrupt," he gave her a pointed look, and she capitulated, gesturing for him to continue. "If he wants to rest, fine – but only for up to four hours. Then you must wake him and ensure that he stays awake for at least one hour before he goes to sleep again. And you have to check his pupils to make sure they're the same size. And make him tea. He likes tea."

"I promise, Sheldon. I'll take good care of him."

"And don't ask him questions, Penny. He doesn't want to talk about it. And try not to be too emotional. Leonard is concerned about your emotional state; if he senses that you're upset he's going to feel obligated to make you feel better and he really doesn't have the energy for that."

"Got it. Go to work, Sheldon."

"Alright. I'll be home at 5pm." Sheldon turned to go, then stopped, seeming to remember something. "Oh, and Penny?"

Penny paused with her hand on the apartment door. "Yes, Sheldon?" she replied, being as patient as she could.

"If he does decide to sleep -will you sing him Soft Kitty?"

xxx

Leonard was still in his chair when she came back in, but a cup of steaming hot coffee had appeared on the kitchen table. "We only had soy milk; I hope that's okay," he said when he caught sight of her relieved smile.

"It's heaven," she replied, taking a sip, enjoying the warmth as it trickled down her throat.

"Look, you don't have to stay with me, I really am fine," Leonard started, but Penny looked up and shushed him.

"I want to," she replied. "Leonard, I'm your friend."

"Yeah." His voice was quiet, contemplative. "Thanks," he continued, giving her a half-smile before his eyes shifted away again. Penny came over and sat down on the couch, in Sheldon's normal spot.

"Leonard – do you want to talk about it?" She asked, eyeing him carefully.

He shook his head, inhaling sharply. "No. I really, really don't," he replied.

"Okay." It was hard for Penny to let it go. She couldn't imagine going through something like this without having friends to talk to – and she really wanted to know what had happened. But Leonard's expression had hardened and he had tensed the moment she asked the question. She had to respect his wishes. She looked down at his clenched hands and saw that he was holding a piece of paper. "What are you working on?" She asked.

"Oh. Uh – find car, cancel credit card, call landlord about keys – I lost my wallet and my keychain," Leonard held the list up half-heartedly, as if the energy involved in thinking about those things had already sapped him of what little strength he had.

Well, here was something she *could* do. "I'll call the landlord. You call the credit card company," she directed, pulling her cell phone out of her jeans pocket.

Leonard smiled up at her, relieved. "Thank you, Penny." He said. He reached out and took her hand, holding it for a moment. Their gazes met again and Penny felt her pulse quicken, but this time, it wasn't worry that was driving it. It was something else. She smiled. The moment stretched on. Penny's instinct was to lean in and kiss Leonard – but she couldn't do that. He was injured. Awkwardly, she smiled and withdrew. He blushed and looked away.

"You're adorable," she laughed, patting his hand.

"Yeah, like a beaten puppy," he responded under his breath.

"Like Leonard," she corrected, still smiling, and then mercifully stood to make her phone call, giving him some space.

xxx

Late in the afternoon, Leonard's phone line rang. He was lying down, so Penny answered it. "Hello?"

"Hello, I'm looking for Dr. Hofstadter, please," a male voice said on the other end.

"I'm sorry; he's unavailable at the moment. Can I take a message?"

"My name is Detective Brookmayer; I'm calling about Dr. Hofstadter's car."

"Oh!" Penny exclaimed. "Please hang on – I'm sure he'll want to take this call." She brought the phone down the hallway with her and knocked lightly on Leonard's door. "Leonard?" she called. "The police are on the phone. They found your call."

"Thanks, Penny," Leonard replied, groaning as he struggled to sit up. Penny slid inside and handed him the phone, fluffing the pillows behind his back so that he could lean against them. He flashed her a smile as he settled down.

"Hello? Of course. Really? Uh – okay. Thanks. Yeah, bye."

"Is your car okay?" Penny cocked her head at Leonard – he didn't seem quite right.

"Uh – yeah. It's fine. It was in the parkade at the university all along. Apparently, with the keys in the door."

Penny shrugged. "What does that mean?" She asked, confused.

"Huh. I guess it means that I'm lucky no one stole my car after I got the shit kicked out of me," Leonard replied, bracing his ribs as he swung his legs off the bed. "But I guess it also means that I was literally right about to get into my car when I was attacked. I almost got away." His voice was monotonous, like he wasn't really aware that he was speaking.

"Don't you remember?" Penny questioned.

Leonard looked up at her, a bit dazed. "I really don't," he replied. "I remember some things but not everything. I don't remember going down to the parkade. That's why I was so confused about where my car was – I couldn't remember where I'd parked. But I remember the ambulance arriving so I guess I should have known I was in the parkade. I dunno. It's really weird." He reached out a hand. "Can you help me get up? The police offered to drive my car over and bring me up the keys. Apparently they have a few more questions."

"Sure, Leonard." Penny reached down and carefully helped him stand. He swayed for a moment and clutched at her waist, laying his head against her shoulder until the dizzy spell passed. In that moment, Penny's heart jumped with a sudden spike of desire, just like earlier when she'd thought about kissing him. "Leonard…" she started.

"I just want to clean up a little," he interrupted, and Penny couldn't tell if he hadn't noticed her tone of voice or if he had and was uncomfortable with it. "Can you give me a hand to the bathroom?"

"For sure. Want – uh – want help?" She flushed. He flushed. They both laughed. "Maybe not," she conceded.

"Thanks anyway," he replied as she helped him to the sink. "I'll only be a minute."

Penny retreated as the water started running, her mind racing. Leonard? She had never really thought about him that way. So why was she all of a sudden doing so now?

xxx

Forty-five minutes later, Penny sat on the edge of the couch while Leonard gave a second statement to the two officers who arrived at the apartment.

"You're certain you don't remember opening the car door," one of them clarified.

Leonard shrugged, looking frustrated. "I wish I could be more helpful. It's – there are pieces. I don't really understand it."

"It's pretty common with trauma," the second officer assured him. "Especially when you've got a head injury. Memory's a tricky thing. But anything you can remember – any little detail – would be helpful. Like, do you remember how many men there were?"

"At least three," Leonard replied, thinking about it. "One – there was the guy with the knife. One of them pulled my arms behind my back," he rubbed the bruises on his forearms, remembering. "And I'm sure there was another one, 'cause I can remembering two people talking, and it wasn't the guy behind me."

"Do you remember what was said?"

Leonard swallowed, accepting Penny's hand when she touched his and holding on tight. "Y-yeah. He said that they should, they should kick me. K-kick him until he breaks, that's what he said." He looked down, and Penny tightened her grip, feeling Leonard's hand squeeze hers in response.

"I know that it's difficult," the first officer sympathized. "We appreciate what you've been through, and we're really not trying to make it worse. But we want to catch the people that did this to you, and you're our only link to the crime. We haven't found any evidence on the scene and there were no witnesses. So if you can remember anything else, anything at all, we really need you to try. Like, did you get a look at any of them? Could you describe them for us?"

"I -" Leonard hesitated, glancing at Penny. "No," he finished, abruptly dropping her hand. "No, I didn't see any of them. Or if I did, I don't remember what they looked like. I'm sorry."

"Dr. Hofstadter, even the smallest thing - "

"I'm really, really sorry," Leonard interrupted, struggling to his feet. "I can't think of a single other thing that I could tell you. And I really need to rest now. Sorry." Avoiding their gazes, he gestured at the door.

"Of course." The second officer closed his notebook and stood, his partner following suit. They shook hands with Leonard. "Thank you for your time; we're sorry to bother you."

"No, not at all," Leonard replied, looking uncomfortable. "I know you're just trying to help. I'm just very tired. Thank you for coming. And thank you for bringing my car. I really appreciate it. Penny, would you mind showing the officers out?" He turned around and shuffled toward away, leaving Penny to guide the officers out into the hallway.

"Thanks for coming," she reiterated as they left, but she hardly noticed their goodbyes. Her attention was on Leonard, who had stopped at the entrance to the kitchen and stood, immobile, head bowed. Distractedly, she shut the apartment door, watching her troubled friend.

A few minutes later, Sheldon, Raj, and Howard walked in the room. "Leonard," Sheldon said without introduction, "were there policemen here a minute ago?"

"Yes, Sheldon. They dropped off my car. Why?"

"We ran into them in the stairwell. They were having a conversation that echoed all the way down the stairs."

"What about?"

"They were saying something about someone hiding something from them and not telling them the truth. Leonard, did you deceive the police? Why on earth would you do that?"

"I didn't do that," Leonard denied. Penny glanced from Leonard to Sheldon, noting that Howard and Raj were both staring at their injured friend. "What? I didn't."

"Then why would the police suspect you did?"

"I don't know," Leonard tried to move away, staggered, and fell forward. Penny grabbed him before he could topple over.

"Sorry," she cried at the groan he couldn't hold back when her arms tightened across his ribs. "Here, come sit down."

"I'm fine, forget it, I'm fine," he protested, but he followed her anyway, clearly reluctant. His friends quickly settled into their spots, Sheldon leaning forward earnestly.

"You're trying to deceive us, too, Leonard. I can tell. Tell the truth."

"Sheldon, just leave it alone." Leonard looked desperately at Howard and Raj, but they just looked back at him, puzzled. He glanced up at Penny. She narrowed her eyes.

"I think Sheldon's right, honey," she said, trying to soften the blow. "I think you did lie to those police officers. You were acting weird. And I don't think it's good for you. We're your friends, Leonard. You can talk to us."

"Yeah, Leonard. Nobody here is going to judge you or – or do anything bad," Howard offered. Raj nodded emphatically.

Leonard looked beseechingly up at Penny, but she just smiled compassionately and rubbed his arm. "Go on," she encouraged.

"Guys, it's not that simple," he tried.

"Of course it is. You just tell us what you know. Leonard, friendships can't be based on fictions, you know that."

Leonard sighed, dropping his head into his hands. Finally he looked up. "Alright. I'll tell you what I remember," he finally conceded. "I remember heading out of the lab, thinking that it must be later than I intended because it was so dark out. And then there's a big gap, and then I remember being grabbed – being grabbed from behind." He shifted in his seat, clearly agitated. Penny raised her hands to rub his shoulders.

Sheldon watched the other man's face intently. "Go on," he instructed. "Tell me what happened next."

"I was just standing there and then all of a sudden I was being pulled backward and I tried to struggle and I couldn't get away," Leonard said in a rush, his face full of anguish. "He was so strong. I mean, I know I'm not – but he was so strong. And then I remember the knife - " he shuddered, and this time Penny did place her hands on his shoulder. Raj and Howard moved closer, filling in the gaps around Leonard's trembling body. "They were going to stab me. That's what they said they were going to do. But I kicked Kurt in the stomach and he missed, he just cut my leg, and then he got really angry and said that if I was going to be like that, he'd show me what a real kick felt like. And then they were kicking me and I was trying to get my hands up to block them and then – and then nothing."

"Wait a minute – what?" Penny interrupted. "You kicked 'Kurt' in the stomach? Kurt who?"

Leonard looked up at her, face ashen. "I didn't say that," he replied.

"Yes, you did. I heard you say it, too." Sheldon interrupted. Leonard shot him a desperate look.

Howard moved closer. "Come on, buddy – what's going on? You know one of your attackers?"

"I - " Leonard looked around, as though searching for an escape. Then, suddenly, he just deflated, like his defenses were finally spent. "Kurt. You're, um, you know. Kurt." He replied.

"Oh! I believe Leonard is referring to that beast of an ex-boyfriend of yours, the one who took our pants."

Penny looked down at Leonard, aghast. "Kurt did this to you? Why would he do that?" Leonard didn't reply, just shaking his head mutely. "Leonard, why would he do that?" she pushed, sensing that he was still holding something back.

"He said – he said it would teach me not to go around sniffing after you," Leonard replied, shaking with anxiety. "Penny, please don't be mad - "

But Penny wasn't listening. Her mind was racing. Kurt had done this. He'd done this because of her. "It's my fault," she whispered.

"No, Penny, please, wait - " Leonard's voice rose, pleading, but Penny couldn't help herself. She jumped to her feet and bolted out of the room.


	4. Ch 3: Space

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

Penny looked at the door, but didn't get up.

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

*Knock*knock*knock. "Penny."

"Just leave me alone, Sheldon," she yelled, her voice hoarse from crying. Sheldon opened the door and came in. "I said leave me alone," she repeated, fresh tears breaking free from her eyes.

"I can't," he replied.

"Why not?"

"I promised Leonard I would check on you. He is extremely upset."

"So am I."

"I can see that. But why are you punishing Leonard for being a victim of a violent crime?"

Penny gaped at him. "What? I am not punishing Leonard! I'm just upset."

"He thinks you're punishing him," Sheldon replied.

"Did he say that?"

"No, of course not. But nevertheless, it's true. You have to come back to our apartment and help him calm down. He's having a panic attack and none of us have been able to help him."

"Can't you see I'm having a panic attack too?" Penny yelled, bursting into full-on sobs, throwing a pillow in Sheldon's direction. "Oh, god, this is all my fault."

"I don't see how," Sheldon replied, nonplussed. "You didn't tell Kurt to assault Leonard. He did it of his own volition."

"Because of me!"

"Because he's a violent man, Penny. You should consider yourself lucky that you left that relationship before you found out about this side of him. Now, please come over. Leonard really needs your help. He didn't even calm down when I sang Soft Kitty and I have very limited skills in this area. I don't know what to do next. "

"I don't either!" she yelled. She collapsed on the sofa, burying her head in her hands. After a moment, she felt the cushion move as Sheldon sat gingerly down beside her. He said nothing, but a few seconds later she realized that his elbow was bumping hers. She pulled her hands away and saw that he was trying to hand her a tissue. "Thanks," she sniffled.

"You're welcome," Sheldon answered. He gave her a moment to wipe her eyes. When she finally straightened and met his gaze, he continued, "Penny – do you know why the doctor talked to you about Leonard's condition instead of me?" Penny shook her head. "It's because he instinctively knew that I wasn't equipped to handle Leonard's emotional reactions. None of us are. Don't misunderstand me – we care about Leonard. But, well – we're not exactly social giants, as you may have noticed."

Penny laughed. "I noticed," she replied.

"Leonard didn't meant to upset you, Penny. He didn't even want to tell us what happened, as you may recall. But didn't you say yourself that it wasn't good for him to keep secrets from his friends?" Penny nodded. "And now that's told you the truth, you've reacted in precisely the manner he was concerned you would, which is why he was holding back in the first place. The pattern's fairly obvious."

"Sheldon, it's not that simple. I'm – it's – I can't help having the feelings I have."

"Granted. But can you at least concede that in this moment, Leonard's feelings take precedence over yours?"

Penny took a deep breath. Sheldon was right. She couldn't make this all about her – not when Leonard was so vulnerable. "Alright," she said. "I'll come."

She let Sheldon go first, and then crept across the hallway and into the men's apartment. Howard and Raj were kneeling beside Leonard, who was hyperventilating into a brown paper bag, his face white.

"Happy kitty, sleepy kitty – ooop!" Raj sang, shutting up abruptly when he caught sight of her. Leonard followed his gaze and paled even more, shaking and gasping for breath. His hands flailed around, trying to get a grip on the chair so that he could stand up.

"Penny," he said, gasping against the pain in his ribs that prevented him from jumping to his feet. "Penny, oh, I'm so sorry, I'm so, so sorry – that's not what I, please don't be mad at me, I-" His expression crumbled and his eyes welled up with tears. All thought of her own turmoil fled her mind as Penny rushed over to his chair.

"No, no, Leonard, it's okay, it's okay. It's not your fault, it's okay, I'm sorry. Shhh…" she babbled, grabbing his hands and holding them tight. He looked at her wildly, fear naked on his face, and her heart broke. "It's okay, I promise," she continued, then sat down on the arm of the chair, pulling him against her, holding him tight. She felt him shaking against her and knew that he was crying. "Shhh, it's okay, Leonard. It's alright." Howard and Raj crept away to stand beside Sheldon, who was wringing his hands.

"Well, that's not good," Sheldon complained. "Now she made him cry."

Leonard laughed, the sound muffled against Penny's side. "It's okay, Sheldon," he managed, catching his breath and swiping at his face. "I'm okay, see?" He sat up and tried to smile, tears still leaking out of his eyes.

"You're not okay, you're crying," Sheldon countered.

"Sheldon, honey, it's not a bad thing. Sometimes it's better to cry than not cry. It's like a release of pent-up emotion," Penny explained.

"Oh," Sheldon responded, understanding dawning. "Well, that's alright then. Continue."

xxx

Later that evening, the five of them sat in the men's apartment, talking quietly. Penny had had her arm around Leonard's shoulders for most of the night, and he leaned into her. Penny enjoyed the warmth of his body pressed against her side. After he'd broken down, the guys had respectfully taken off – dragging Sheldon with them – for a while to go get dinner, and upon their return they'd eaten, watched TV, and generally avoided talking about the events of the day. But now, Sheldon turned to Leonard with an intent look on his face.

"I think you should call the police," Sheldon stated.

"Sheldon, don't start," Howard tried to cut in. Sheldon glanced back at him, confused.

"Hasn't it been an appropriate interval of time? You told me that I shouldn't talk to Leonard about what happened to him until an appropriate interval of time had passed. Everyone seems much calmer now, so I assumed that it had."

"No, it hasn't," Howard hissed back, but Leonard waved him off.

"Yes, it has, Sheldon," Leonard said, resignedly. "But I don't want to call the police. I just – I just want to move on." He tensed against Penny and she tightened her grip, worried that he was going to pull away. He glanced up at her quickly and then his eyes darted away again.

"Oh, honey – if you're not calling because of me, I don't care. The bastard deserves to go to jail," Penny exclaimed.

"It's not that – exactly," Leonard replied uncomfortably. "It's just – I'm worried about what he might do."

"He'd be in jail," Sheldon explained, peering at Leonard's eyes. "Are you sure you've recovered from that head trauma? I'd have thought that would be fairly obvious."

"It's not," Leonard replied tersely. "It's not that simple, Sheldon. There's no evidence that Kurt was there. There's just my word – and I've already given two statements – two separate statements – saying that I couldn't remember anything about my attackers."

"But there were extenuating circumstances," Sheldon protested. "We'll just explain to them about Penny. They'll understand."

"That's not exactly how it works," Howard said. "It's not like theoretical physics, Sheldon. It's like an experiment. You have to have compelling evidence to demonstrate that Kurt is guilty, or the police won't be able to charge him. Or they'll charge him, but the prosecution won't take it to court. Or it'll go to court, but a jury won't find him guilty. There's several points at which the justice system can fail to reject the null hypothesis that Kurt is innocent."

"But we know he isn't innocent."

"Trust me, they won't take your word for it," Leonard said tiredly.

"But - "

"Let it go, sweetie," Penny cut in. She turned to Leonard. "Even still, Sheldon is right. You should tell the police. I know you don't want to, but it's important. What if Kurt does this to someone else?"

"Trust me, Penny, telling never leads to a decrease in violence." Penny was shocked to see the other three men nodding in agreement.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"Kurt's like a bully," Howard explained. "On like a mega-scale. But the same principle applies."

"And when you tell, you just get staple-gunned to the library bulletin board," Sheldon finished.

"The only way that Kurt's going to leave Leonard alone is if he keeps his mouth shut, unless something to connect him to the crime's discovered," Howard concluded.

"Well, that's it, then," Sheldon jumped to his feet. "We'll just have to find some evidence that Kurt is guilty." He grabbed his bag and coat, striding purposefully toward the door. "Raj, you'll have to drive." Raj obediently bounced to his feet and they headed down the stairs.

Leonard gestured helplessly at the door as it swung closed. "Perfect," he grumbled. "Howard – please? Will you go make sure that they stay out of trouble?"

"Well, I'll do my best, but no promises," Howard replied. "Night, Penny."

"Good night, Howard." Penny gave him a half-smile – nothing too encouraging – as the engineer strode out after his friends. "Well," she said after he'd gone, "Looks like it's just us. What do you want to do?"

Leonard leaned back against her, resting his head on her arm. "I don't care," he said tiredly. "Just as long as it doesn't involve the police or talking about my feelings."

"American Idol it is, then."

xxx

Penny put Leonard to bed a few hours later, helping him lay down and pulling the covers up over his chest. He was asleep almost immediately. Even though she knew she ought to give him some privacy, she couldn't help but stand and watch him for a moment. The bruise on his face was slowly turning from blood-shot red to an ugly purple, and the swelling had gone down. He looked impossibly tired, though, the dark circles under his eyes showing ample evidence of the incredible stress of the last two days.

Maybe he was right, she thought. Maybe they should all just let it go and move on. But she couldn't help the ire that burned inside her when she thought about how someone she knew had done this to her friend – made him look so vulnerable and small, hurt him and broken him and made him afraid – and all because of what? Because Kurt thought that he owned her? He thought he had a right to decide who her friends were? It was wrong. It was wrong that anyone should be able to hurt another person. Kurt had to learn a lesson. It wasn't okay to just let it go; he had to be punished.

She resisted the urge to reach down and smooth Leonard's hair off his forehead, afraid that she would wake him if she did. But looking at him, her heart came to a decision despite her mind's objections. If he wasn't going to protect himself, well – someone had to.

She called the police station as soon as she got to her apartment and caught a break – Officer Brookmayer was still around. He agreed to see her immediately, so despite the late hour, she grabbed her purse and headed out the door.

xxx

The interview lasted half an hour, but the most important information came out first – Kurt's name, where they could find him, what the connection between him and Leonard was – i.e., Penny herself. Officer Brookmayer had put the call in to pick Kurt up the second that he had a name.

"Don't feel guilty about coming in, ma'am," he told her as he walked her to the door. "Lots of victims are afraid to speak up. Your friend is lucky he has someone in his corner. Of course, we'll have to confirm this with him, so you might want to let him know what you did, in advance of our phone call."

"Of course; thank you," Penny replied.

"Penny? What are you doing here?" Penny whirled around to find herself face to face with Leonard and Raj.

"Uh – what are you doing here?" She asked.

Leonard rolled his eyes. "Sheldon got arrested," he explained, "for tampering with a crime scene. Raj came to get me 'cause he needed money to pay his fine. Don't worry – I didn't spend any of my money. We liberated the cash in the can of snakes."

"Ah. So, where is he exactly?"

"Finishing his paperwork, under Howard's watchful eye," Leonard smiled tiredly. "So, what *are* you doing here?"

"Oh! Well, I –uh –"

Just then a loud commotion erupted behind them. Leonard jumped a little, grimacing at the strain against his ribs, and turned around.

"You!" A hateful voice yelled. Kurt was standing in the door, hands cuffed behind his back, fighting with two burly officers as they pulled him into the police station. "You little faggot. I should have known it was you. When I get out of here, I'm going to kill you." The shouting trailed off as the officers dragged Kurt down the hall and around a corner.

Leonard whirled back around, eyes wide. "Oh," he said, his voice tense. "I guess *that's* what you're doing here."

"Leonard, please, let me explain," Penny started.

Leonard raised his eyebrow. "Yes, please explain, Penny. Tell me how you came here against my express wishes and did the one thing I said I didn't want to do." He was trembling, but when she reached out to calm him, he stepped back, stumbling into Raj, who quickly moved to support his friend.

"What's going on?" Howard's voice sliced through the tension as he led a subdued Sheldon up to the group. Raj leaned over and quickly whispered the story to Howard, who turned wide eyes on Penny. "You reported Kurt to the police?"

"But we haven't got any evidence yet," Sheldon objected.

"I know!" Penny exclaimed, "Please, guys, just – I need to talk to Leonard for a moment, just to explain." But Leonard just shook his head, a look of hurt emblazoned on his flushed cheeks.

"Take me home, Raj," he directed, then turned on his heel and left.

xxx

Penny drove home slowly so that the guys would arrive with time to spare, hopefully ensuring that Leonard could get up the stairs without having her pass them by. Sure enough, when she arrived, Raj's car was in visitor parking but the stairwell was empty. She climbed the stairs and stood outside the door to their apartment for a long time, feeling horribly unsure. She knew Leonard was angry – she knew when she did it that he would be angry. But it made her angry thinking about him not even trying to stand up for himself – it infuriated her, and it made her feel unspeakably sad. It all came down to letting her heart make up her mind, and she still believed in her heart that she had done the right thing, in the end.

But now she didn't know what to do. She had expected Leonard to be mad at her – intellectually expected it, that was. She hadn't been prepared for how anxious and afraid that would make her feel. She'd figured she'd keep her distance for a little while until he could hear her out, and they'd mend the friendship, and all would be well. But even though her mind was telling her that it could still work out that way, this terrible fear kept screaming that she'd ruined anything and she had to find a way to fix it.

So there she stood, paralyzed, between her apartment and theirs, until their door swung open and she found herself standing face to face with Leonard and suddenly discovered that she had no idea what to say. "Leonard, I - " she started, then gestured helplessly.

He sighed, looking older and more worn than she had ever seen him. "I gave the police another statement," he said, showing her the phone in his hand. "They said that given the conflicts with my previous statements, I wasn't credible and there was no way to prove that Kurt was even there. They couldn't find any reason to hold him."

"They let him out?" Penny asked, incredulous.

Leonard shrugged. "Just like I knew they would," he mumbled.

"Oh, Leonard." She reached out to touch him but he stiffened up and she dropped her hand, hesitant. He followed the motion with his eyes and then looked up at her, totally bewildered.

"Look," he finally said. "I'm – uh, I'm really tired, and I'm really angry, and I'm really – I don't even know what I am. I understand why you did it but I asked you not to and Penny, this wasn't your decision to make. Even if you completely disagreed with me. "

"I know," she replied. "And I'm truly sorry that I hurt you."

"I know you are. I also know you think you're right. And I just – I don't know what to do with all of," he gestured around, at her and then himself, "this. I don't know what to do."

"I know."

"I just need some space, you know?"

"Leonard, it's okay. I understand. Thank you for coming to talk to me."

He smiled, reaching up and touching her arm. "Thanks for taking care of me," he replied. "I promise – I promise you that at the end of everything we're still going to be friends, okay? Just let me get my head together."

"Okay." She smiled at him, holding his hand in hers for a moment, and then turned toward her apartment and let herself in. She prided herself on the fact that she didn't start to cry until the door was closed behind her.


	5. Ch 4: Sheldon to the Rescue

Six days later, Penny was starting to get used to the solitude of her own apartment. She had carefully avoided going out at any time when she knew that she'd likely run in to any of the guys and had mostly been successful, except for one time when she'd passed Raj and Howard in the hallway. Howard had been his usual self, which she took as a good sign, but he hadn't asked her to join them, so she assumed that the men had closed ranks with Leonard, so to speak.

In the meantime she had gotten not comfortable, exactly, but at least a bit more peaceful. The anxiety had lessened and the voice in her heart that said she'd done the right thing reporting Kurt to the police had prevailed. It was about more than just Leonard; even if they couldn't prosecute Kurt, at least now someone knew what was lurking under his good looks and everybody's-dream-catch attitude. It felt like she'd won some kind of personal battle – like now Kurt finally knew that she knew his dirty little secrets and he knew he'd never be able to fool or manipulate her again. And that felt kind of good.

She was ruminating on this when the phone rang. Looking down at the call display, her heart leapt. It was the Physics Department at CalTech. "Hello?" she breathed, answering quickly.

"Uh – hey, Penny," Leonard's voice replied, sounding artificially casual. She smiled – he was trying as hard as she wanted to.

"Hey, Leonard," she replied. "How's it going?"

"Uh – it's okay," he said. There was a second of silence, and then she heard him draw a deep breath. "Actually, it's not okay," he continued. "I, uh, we drove to work today and we parked in the parkade, but now Sheldon's been invited to join a conference presentation and he's going to be here all night. Howard and Raj have already gone home and I'm here by myself, and, uh - " He stopped abruptly. Penny could imagine him flushing.

"Want me to swing by?" she suggested lightly. "You can show me your lab and then we could grab dinner."

"That would be great," he replied, breathing a sigh of relief. "Thanks Penny. Thanks for being so understanding."

"No problem," she replied. She was smiling so widely it felt like her cheeks were going to burst. "I'll see you soon."

xxx

The first thing she noticed when she found his office was how much better he looked. The bruise was still there, of course, but the purple was fading into a yellowish colour, and the circles under his eyes were lighter. When he saw her and smiled, he didn't wince in pain and she noticed that his range of motion had improved. "You're looking good," she exclaimed.

"Yeah," he replied. "I'm feeling better. Thanks for coming. I was – I got scared," he ducked his head as he admitted the feeling, but Penny was pleased to see that when she approached him, he didn't stiffen at all.

"It's understandable," she replied. "Here's what I think we should do: let's walk to your car, then you drive me to mine, and I'll follow you to the restaurant. Deal?"

"Deal." He smiled again, relieved, and took her hand as they walked out of the office. "Listen, Penny," he said as they wandered down the hallway, taking their time. "I really appreciate you giving me some time. I know it was a lot to ask."

"No – it was good. I didn't fully think through what I was doing when I went to the police station, and having a bit of space helped me figure things out, too." Leonard looked at her, encouragingly, but didn't interrupt. After a moment, she met his eyes, then glanced away and said, "It wasn't just for you. It was for me, too. It was for me to show Kurt that, I don't know, that I knew what he'd done and that I saw through him now. Does that make sense?"

"Yeah. It makes a lot of sense." Leonard reached for her hand and gave it a squeeze. "I should have been braver," he said, letting her hand go so he could reach for the door to the stairwell. "I should have told the truth in the first place. I just didn't want you to feel bad."

"You don't have to worry about me, Leonard." They walked slowly down the stairwell, Leonard gripping the guard rail and easing himself down each step. Penny kept a watchful eye on him but resisted the urge to try and help. Luckily it was only one flight down. This time, Penny held the door open for Leonard. He hesitated.

"Want me to go first?" Penny asked gently.

"No, don't be ridiculous," Leonard replied, blushing. He took a deep breath and stepped into the parkade. The moment that Penny stepped through the door, though, his hand found hers and he held on tight.

"What do you feel like eating tonight?" she asked, trying to distract him. Leonard's breathing was a little shallow and his hand had gotten colder in her grasp.

"I – I don't know," he replied, eyes darting around the parkade. "How about Thai?"

"Thai's good. There's Suriya, that's close."

"No – Saladong Song. That way I can pick up something for Sheldon."

Penny smiled. "You're always thinking about everybody else, Leonard," she said admiringly as they approached his car. "That blows me away."

"What blows me away is that you had the guts to come down here," a new voice said, and they both whirled around. Next to her, Leonard's face drained of all colour and he started to shake as Kurt stepped out from around a pillar to confront them.

"Kurt!" She shouted. "What are you doing here? Get lost." She moved to step forward and confront him but to her surprise, Leonard shoved her backwards, putting his body in between her and Kurt. Penny looked at him in surprise, but Leonard didn't meet her gaze. He was staring ahead but he wasn't looking at Kurt's angry, twisted face. He was staring down at Kurt's hands. Penny followed the gaze and saw the glint of metal. "Jesus," she breathed.

Kurt waved the gun, laughing, as he stocked nearer to them. Leonard stepped back, pushing Penny backward as he did so. "Where you gonna run to, little faggot?" Kurt taunted. He grinned over Leonard's shoulder at Penny. "You know, Penny, I never expected your pet geek to have so much fight in him. I figured I'd stick him once, he'd bleed for a while until some security guard came along to call 911, and he'd learn his lesson. But you know what he did? That little motherfucker kicked me, right in the gut." Kurt scowled at them. "That really pissed me off," he informed them.

"Kurt, come off it. You've just had too much to drink," Penny countered. She tried to smile at him. "Honey, please, this is ridiculous. Just put down the gun, and we'll talk, okay?"

"Talk about what, Penny? About how you were holding Dr. Nintendo's hand just a second ago? Talk about why you're hanging out at work with him? Huh? You wanna tell me how he's 'just a friend' and 'nothing happened' and I've got nothing to worry about?"

"You don't own her," Leonard said quietly. "You're not even with her." His voice was shaky, but Penny caught an edge of anger in his tone.

"Shut up, faggot!" Kurt screamed, raising the gun and pointing it at Leonard's chest. "Shut the fuck up!" He took a step closer, the gun lowering a fraction as he moved.

A loud beep interrupted them as Leonard hit the unlock button on his car door. Kurt swung the gun back up, but faster than she thought possible, Leonard grabbed the door handle and swung it open so that it stood as a barrier between them, at the same time pushing Penny down to the ground and toward the front of the car. She scrambled on hands and knees around the car, cowering between the bumper and the cement wall of the parkade, as a shot rang out. Leonard was right beside her.

"Now what?" she whispered. He stared at her, eyes wide, face white.

"I don't know!" he exclaimed frantically. Another shot rang out and they instinctively threw their arms around each other. Penny tucked her head against Leonard's chest, listening to his heart pound and wondering dimly if hers was beating as fast. They had to go – they had to run – but Leonard couldn't run – and she didn't know what side Kurt was on, whether he come up beside the car door or come up on the passenger side. Time seemed to drag out, but she knew it couldn't have been that long, or Kurt would have killed them by now, which meant that any minute –

"Drop the weapon and get down on the ground," a new voice rang out. Both Penny and Leonard jumped. Penny started to get up to see what was going on, but Leonard's hand closed around her arm like a vice. He shook his head mutely, holding her in place.

"Please don't go," he whispered, his voice laced with fear.

"Leonard, we have to find out what's happening." There were loud footsteps and shouting that seemed to come from all directions, authoritative voices mixing with Kurt's outraged screams, and then the sound of sirens and a car engine coming at them. Penny pulled out of Leonard's grip, ignoring the frightened expression on his face, and peeked around the passenger side.

Kurt was on the ground, his hands cuffed behind his back, with a security guard's knee embedded in his back and the man's gun firmly pointed at his head. There were other guards, also with guns, positioned around them. A cop car had just pulled up and Officer Brookmayer was stepping out of it. "Leonard, it's the police!" Penny exclaimed. "Officer Brookmayer!" she called. The officer looked up, acknowledged her, and then gestured for her to stay back and wait as he knelt down to read Kurt his rights. "It's going to be okay, now," she continued, turning back to Leonard. "Leonard?"

Leonard didn't answer – he had his eyes pressed shut and he was shaking hard, his arms wrapped tightly around his knees. "Honey, are you okay?" she knelt down and touched his arm; he flinched but didn't open his eyes. "Leonard, honey, look at me."

Just then the sound of footsteps caught her attention and she looked up to see Sheldon standing above them. "Leonard," Sheldon said, "Get up off the concrete. It's cold and dirty."

"Sheldon?" Leonard's voice was completely confused, but at least the incongruity had shaken him out of his funk. He looked up at his friend, who stared back impassively. For a moment they just looked at each other and then Sheldon rolled his eyes and offered Leonard a hand.

"Get up," he reiterated. Leonard took Sheldon's hand. Sheldon glanced at Penny who nodded and put her hands on Leonard's back, helping propel him up to his feet so that the strain on Leonard's ribs was minimized.

"Sheldon, what are you doing here?" Leonard asked once he was standing. He turned around to reach for Penny, but she waved him off, coming to her feet beside him, pleased that instead of flinching away from her, Leonard was back to leaning into her, his hand unconsciously reaching for hers.

"Well, I came to check on you, of course," Sheldon replied. "And I promised Howard that I would retrieve his cameras after our mission was successful."

"What cameras? What are you talking about?"

Sheldon smiled his beatifically down at them. "It was quite brilliant, if I do say so myself. You see, when Howard, Raj, and I arrived at the 'scene of the crime' looking for evidence last week, we quickly realized that there was very little we could do to prove that Kurt had assaulted you. However, statistically speaking, violent offenders tend to reoffend. Add that to the fact that jealous ex-lovers generally continue to be jealous and factor in the disturbingly unintelligent tendency of many criminals to return to the place where they first offended, and we concluded there was a high probability that Kurt would confront you again. It was just a matter of time. So Howard liberated some cameras from the engineering department and we wired them into my smart phone."

"Howard was supposed to stop you," Leonard groaned.

"Good thing he didn't," Sheldon countered. "If he hadn't written the face recognition algorithm, I would have never gotten the automated message from the cameras alerting us to Kurt's presence in the parkade, which resulted in my calling campus security."

"Oh my god," Penny exclaimed. "You were using Leonard as bait to catch Kurt?"

"Of course not," Sheldon countered. "The face recognition software was programmed to recognize Kurt, not Leonard. We just assumed that if we could be alerted to every time Kurt was loitering in the parkade, sooner or later we'd catch him doing something suspicious."

"Like carrying a gun," Leonard supplied.

"Exactly." Sheldon held up his cell phone, showing them the picture of Kurt as he entered the parkade, gun in his left hand. "It was sufficient cause for my call to campus security, which is why they were able to react so quickly."

"So we were just lucky," Penny concluded. "If we'd come down a little earlier, Kurt might have had time to – you know – before the police arrived."

"I don't believe in luck, Penny," Sheldon replied. He was about to say more when Officer Brookmayer approached and interrupted the conversation.

"Dr. Cooper," the officer began. "I'm given to understand that these are your surveillance cameras?" He pointed to one that was positioned over the stairwell door.

"Well, actually, they technically belong to the Engineering Department, but - "

"Just say 'yes officer' so I don't have to arrest you for theft," Officer Brookmayer interrupted.

"But I didn't steal them – Howard Wolowitz stole them!"

"Sheldon, just go with the nice officer and answer his questions," Leonard directed.

Sheldon opened his mouth to protest, but Penny cut him off. "Go!" she commanded. Sheldon shot her a look, and then meekly left with the policeman. Penny kept her evil-eye stare up for the inevitable moment when Sheldon turned back to look at them, but it melted away when she looked over at Leonard and saw his goofy smile.

"Well," she said, suddenly feeling self-conscious. "I guess that's over, huh?"

"Yeah," Leonard replied thoughtfully. Suddenly his goofy smile transformed into one of absolute joy. "it is over, isn't it?" He took Penny's hand in his. "This whole week I feel like I've been looking behind my shoulder, waiting for him to appear again. I kept having dreams about it."

"Oh, Leonard," Penny squeezed his hand. "That's terrible. But Kurt's not going to hurt you anymore."

"No, you don't understand - " Leonard looked at her seriously. "I wasn't dreaming about me – I was dreaming about you. I kept dreaming that he'd hurt you. I'd have this dream that I'd be in my apartment lying down and I'd hear you screaming, and I'd try to run but I couldn't move fast enough." He shuddered.

"You were worried for me?" Penny replied, shocked.

"Of course! Penny, look at what Kurt did to me, just because I'm friends with you," he gestured at his face. "All I could think about is what he would do to *you* if he found out we were still hanging out. I thought he might really lose it on you."

"Is that why you wanted space?"

Leonard shrugged. "It's why I didn't want to talk to the police," he admitted. "I don't know why I wanted space. I just – there was so much to sort out, you know?"

Penny nodded. "I know." She turned his hand over in her own, mindlessly tracing her thumb across his palm. "So – is it all sorted?"

Leonard shrugged, considering the question. "Almost," he replied eventually. "There's just one more thing."

"What's tha-" Penny's eyes opened in surprise as Leonard leaned in, covering her mouth with his in a sweet, lingering kiss. "Oh," she breathed when he released her. He blushed. She blushed.

"Let's go home," he suggested. "If we hurry, we might have an hour to ourselves before Officer Brookmayer releases Sheldon from jail again."

Penny laughed. "I'll drive!" she replied, grabbing the keys.

*the end*


End file.
